Picture stepping out of the train in New York’s Central Station and finding yourself in the white beaches of the Caribbean. Seems impossible, right? Well, not quite.
For the past years we’ve been excited with all the advancements made in the field of Augmented Reality, in 2017 especially, we had lots of fun experimenting with it. At Dift.co, what started as an ‘out of curiosity’ test trial ended up being a self managed app we launched last year, with the rise of ARkit. We were happy about it, but knew there was much more to explore in that area.
One of the most interesting aspects of AR is the possibility to create parallel universes out of thin air and bring to life artificial landscapes in the least expected places. That’s why we were eager to find a client to match with this technology.
An experience of an experience
There are many products that demand an experience to test them out, but we wanted to go a step beyond just that, and test actual experiences. That’s why when we partnered up with Marriott, we had an idea in mind.
Our aim was to design a special experience to promote the Marriott Rewards Program. We certainly found that the hospitality industry has its complexities, specially when it comes to some pain points at the time of purchase. In particular, the question ‘Is this resort really like the picture shows?’ is a challenge for conversion. Between what they see and what they expect, there might be a big gap, and the public struggles to fully appreciate what hotels really have to offer.
We wanted to close that gap. Que Portal to Paradise, an app, an activation stunt, and a campaign. A project we worked on simultaneously on, as a close knitted team. From our tech and UX guys figuring out how to build an user friendly app and seamless user jurney for its launch, to the content and design departments, generating all types of assets, branding and creating exclusive content.
An app
The idea for this app was born from the necessity to display Marriott’s exclusive spots and amenities as they are in real life. Portal to Paradise uses augmented reality to bring to life all these amazing places. It is available for anyone who wants to have the experience and know more about each destination. This way, we reach a general audience, from tourists to travel agents, who can use it as a great tool for commercial purposes.
A campaign
While our tech department was working on the programming, UX, and all the mechanics that AR requires, we had a team of photographers and filmmakers travelling to the different Marriott Caribbean destinations to generate content; both for social media and for the app.
Although the activation was the same for all of the hotels (N in total) we agreed to differentiate each hotel with its own particular content. For each of the Marriott accounts we worked distinct formats corresponding to Facebook and Instagram platforms, to transmit their unique experiences separately.
During the whole experience we kept these accounts active, offering wallpapers and showcasing beautiful photography.
With 360º cameras we captured images, from the lobby all the way to the bedrooms, to provide volume of content for the different Portals to Paradise. Once we had all of the content put together, and the AR details down, the next months we put all our efforts in UX.
This was one of our first test trials, at our offices:
An activation stunt
Once the app was finished, it caught the attention of Marriott Global. This meant possibilities of expanding this action to other locations and a great business opportunity. So for the activation we decided to kick things into high gear and go big. The venue: Grand Central Station in NYC; rush hour.
We created a set of literal portals, like door frames, with two moderators serving as concierges who helped people with all the mechanics of the action. Passer-bys were invited to participate in a game that consisted of looking for codes inside the Portals. These unlocked different tiers of prizes (Marriott Rewards) and were found randomly inside the different Caribbean 360º scenarios, all of it made with AR.
Recap video:
